Tacking apparatus.



E. ERICKSON. TACKING APPARATUS APPLICATION FILED MAY 22. 1911'.

Patented Mar. 20; 1917.

-2 suns-$55511.

' E. ERICKSON. TACKING' APPARATUS.

I APPLICATION FILED MAY 221 1911. 1,21 Patented Mar. 20,1917.

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EDWARD ERICKSON, 0F BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

TACKING APPARATUS.

Patented Mar. 20, 1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD ERICKSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Beverly, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Tacking Apparatus, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to tacking apparatus for use in manufacturing boots and shoes and particularly to tack supplying, handling and driving mechanism for machines to be used in lasting shoes.

An object of the present invention is to improve tacking machines generally and particularly such machinery when employed in portable tackers which derive power for their operation from an outside source,

Such tackers are designed for use in lasting shoes, their functlon being to secure in place 'an upper which has been drawn into position by, pincers or other lasting means. When pincers are used they may form a part of the apparatus, the'tacking mechanism being, as shown, supported on the pincers, and the pincer handles being employed to manipulate the tacker. The trip for controlling the power operation of the tacker may conveniently be located adjacent to one of the pincer handles.

An important feature of the invention comprises the combination with a power driven tack driver of a tack reservoir and raceway so arranged that the raceway is supplied with tacks from the reservoir by reason of the agitation of the tacks naturally incident to the operation of the apparatus. The agitation of the tacks is due mainly to the reaction of the driver upon the frame of the apparatus and this reaction or rebound may be accentuated by a construction which increases the velocity of movement of the driver during the latter part of its-stroke. This construction also increases the effectiveness of the driver. By this arrangement all mechanism for effecting the agitation of the tacks to keep theraceway filled is dispensed with, and the apparatus rendered much simpler than the analogous devices of the'prior art.

A further feature of my invention consists in means for positively actuating the vice to normal position.

separating slide or device in a direction to separate the tacks and feed them to the driver passage, and the provision of resilient means for returning the separating de- This construction affords a positive feed for the tacks and if, for any reason, the device should become jammed inits forward or tack separating movement, permits it to remain stationary until the obstruction is removed, thus preventing injury to the device which might result if it were positively actuated rearwardly.

Another feature of the invention comprises a tack separating slide which consists of a. plate of the height of the longest tack to be used and of the thickness of the thickest tack stem. and having a transverse portion attached to one longitudinal edge of the plate and extending laterally therefrom, this portion being of the width of a tack head, so that the slide is. T-shaped or tackshaped in cross-section. The end face of the slideengages a tack and transfers it bodily to the driver. passage. This action is made more effective and certain by the I fact that the end face of the slide which engages the tack is concaved to correspond more or less closely to the shape of the tack. The corner of the laterally extending portion which lies next the raceway is in ad.- vance of the other corner and may be slightly rounded to avoid any likelihood of its engaging the second tack in the raceway instead of the first. The end of the plate or vertical part of the slide is somewhat in advance of the laterally extending portion, so as to engage the stem of the tack while the laterally extending portion engages the head without forcing the tack into a position at an angle to the end of the plate. The end of the plate has the edge or corner next the raceway arranged slightly in advance of the opposite corner to assist. in it's tack separating function.

Another feature of my invention consists in the operative relation of the raceway to the separating slide. The slide is provided with a slot beneath the laterally extending portion thereof to accommodate an extension on the outer. wall of the raceway which crosses the path of the separating slide and engages the wall of the casing in which the separator slide is mounted. When the slide is withdrawn, the head of the lowermost tack in the raceway moves forward into the pathway of the slide with its head resting at one side upon the extension, and is in position to be engaged by the laterally extending portion of the slide when it is reciprocated. The end portion, of the inner wall of the raceway is bent inwardly at right angles to the remainder of the wall and extends to the driver passage. The head of the tack, after it is pushed out of line with the column of tacks in the raceway by the end'of the separating slide, rests at one side upon the upper edge of the inwardly bent portion of the inner wall of the raceway. The tack is thus maintained in position against the end ofthe separator slide and transferred positively to the driver passage by the reciprocation of the said slide.

The means for holding the tack upon the extension and for pressing it against the inner wall of the raceway, constitutes a feature of my invention, and as shown comprises a spring in the form of a leaf or wire secured at one end to the casing of the slide and bent inwardly to a position in front of a tack resting on the extension, and hence preventing it from falling off of the extension. The wire is then bent to extend toward the driver and along the inwardly bent end portion of the inner wall of the raceway. The bend in the spring serves to hold the tack on the extension and against the end of the separator slide while the slide is in its outer position and the straight portion extending toward the driver holds the tack head upon the ledge formed by the top of the end portion of the inner wall of the raceway and against the advance end of the separating slide until the tack is carried beyond the end of the spring and also beyond the ledge, when. it is free to fall into the driver passage.

The foregoing and other features of the invention, including certain combinations of parts and 'more important details of construction, will appear more fully from the following description of the illustrated apparatus, and will then be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings,.

Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the complete apparatus;

Fig. 2 represents a front elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4is a detail showing, in perspective, the'tack separating mechanism; 1

Fig. 5 is a perspective detail of the tack separating slide.

In the construction of the hereindescribed embodiment of my invention, lasting pincers are provided of ordinary construction having the handles 2, 4 and jaws 6, 8. Upon the upper jaw 8 of the pincers is mounted mechanism is arranged. A spindle 12 is journaled in the upper portion of the frame 10 and is adapted to be connected by a threaded portion 14 with a flexible shaft driven continuously from any suitable source of power. The lower end of the spindle 12 carries a miter gear 16 which remains constantly in driving relation with a miter gear 18 loosely mounted upon a shaft 20 extending longitudinally of the apparatus. The shaft 20 is driven, whei desired, through a'clutch mechanism comprising a member 22 splined upon, the shaft 20 and having lugs 24 which are arranged to engage corresponding lugs upon the opposed face of the miter gear 18. The clutch member 22 is forced into clutching engagement with the miter gear 18 by a spring 26, when permitted to do so, by the retraction of a pin 28 from a cam groove 30 formed in the member 22. hen the pin 28 is drawn downward, by mechanism to be described, out of engagement with the cam groove 30, the member 22 is forced toward the face of the miter gear 18 by the spring 26 causing the lugs 24 to engage those on the gear 18 and transmit power from the spindle 12 to the shaft 20 for operating the tack separating the driving 20 and member 22 has been made, the pin 28 has acted upon the wall of said groove to retract the clutch member 22 from engagement with the miter gear 18, permitting the shaft 20 to stop.

The pin 28 has a flattened side 32, provided with a notch 34, which is engaged by a spring-pressed detent or dog 36 carried by the short arm of a bell-crank lever 38, pivoted at 40. The long arm of the lever 38 extends within convenient reach of the operators forefinger. The pin 28 is normally pressed upwardly, Fig. 1, by a leaf spring 42 which is attached to the frame 10 at one end and at the other is forked to embrace the reduced, flattened, lower end of the pin 28 and prevent rotation thereof. A spring 44 is arranged to hold the lever 38 normally in the position shown in Fig. 1. It will be seen from the mechanism described that when the lever 38 is moved rearwardly against the tension of the spring 44, the dog 36 will press downwardly upon the notch 34 -in the pin 28 and retract the-same from en- .the spring 44 forces it back into normal position and the spring pressed dog 36 snaps again into the notch 34 in position to again retract the pin 28 upon a subsequent manipulation of the lever 38.

A tack reservoir 50 is attached to the frame 10, and leading therefrom is a tack raceway, the outer wall of which is designated by the numeral which conducts the tacks to the separating device. The upper portion of the raceway is provided with the usual deflecting plates 54 which direct the tacks into the raceway. lVhen the device is in use, the agitation due to the operation of the driver is sufiicient to throw the tacks about in the reservoir, so that they will fall.

upon the deflecting plates 51 and be guided into the raceway 52 in sufficient quantity to keep the raceway constantly supplied with tacks.

The forward end of the shaft 20 carries a disk 60 from which the driver and the tack separating mechanism are operated. The front face of the disk 60 is provided with a pin 62 carrying a roll which engages a camway 63 in a block 64 secured by the pin 66 to the driver 68. As best shown in Fig. 2 the camway in the block 64 has an upwardly curved mid portion. The effect of this construction is to give the driver a dwell at the upper portion of its stroke and to maintain or increase the velocity of motion of the driver as the pin approaches dead center at the lower portion of the driver stroke and during its driting action.

On the back side of the disk is a pin 80, Fig. 2, which contacts with the upper end of the lever 82 by which the tack separating mechanism is actuated. Upon the upper jaw 8 of the pincers a casing S L-is mounted through which the driver reciprocates, it being guided also through a projection 85 upon the frame 10; Mounted in the casing for reciprocation at right angles to the direction of ,the driver and in the plane thereof is the tack separating slide indicated as a whole bythe numeral 86 and best shown in the detail view, Fig. 5. The tack separatin-g slide consists of a vertical plate 90 provided upon its'upper edge with a transverse portion 92 extending laterally of the plate. The height of the plate corresponds to the length of the longest tack to be used and its thickness to the thickness of the stem of the largest tack while the transverse portion 92 corresponds approximately in Width and thickness to that of the head of the largest tack. The cross section of the separating device is thus T-shaped and corresponds approximately to the form of a tack. The advance end of the plate 90 is concaved'and the edge 94, which lies next the raceway, is arranged slightly in advance of the opposite edge. The end of the plate 90 lies sufficiently in advance of the end of the transverse portion 92 so that the stem of a tack may lie along the end of the plate 90 and its head rest in contact with the transverse portion 92. The end of the transverse por tion 92 is concaved to correspond more or less closely to the curvature of the tack head, and the corner 96, Fig. 5, which lies next the raceway is preferably somewhat blunted so that the separator slide will not be likely to catch upon the second tack in the raceway.

The plate 90 is provided with a pin 100 arranged to engage the forked lower end of the lever 82 which is pivoted at 102 and is held normally in the position shown in Fig. 2 by a spring 104 wrapped about the pivot 102 and having one end engaging the frame of the machine and the other end engaging the lever. It will now be seen that when the pin 80 comes in contact with the upper end of the lever 82, as the disk 60 rotates, the upper end will be moved outwardly against the tension of the spring 101 and the lower end will act upon the pin 100 to reciprocate the separating slide 86 toward the driver.

The manner of mounting the separating slide 86 will be clear from Fig. 1 in which the casing 84: is shown detached from the upper jaw of the pincers and the relation of the separating slide to the adjacent mechanism is exhibited. A plate 106 extends from the nose of the t acker through the casing 81 and is provided at its upper edge with a rabbet 107 which is engaged by the flange formed by the outer edge of the transverse portion 92 of the separating slide 86. The inner edge of the transverse portion rests across the portion 84* of the casing. As is clearly shown in Fig. 5, a slot 110 is provided in the plate 90 just beneath the transverse portion 92 to accommodate the end of the outer wall 52 of the raceway, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. This end of the outer wall is formed as an extension 112 which has its inner face curved inwardly, as shown in Fig. 3, and has a lug at its end which is arranged to rest in a shallow groove in the plate 106, as best shown in Fig. -l. As the tacks descend the raceway, one side of their heads rests upon the extension 112, Fig. 3, upon which they are retained by means of a spring 114 formed as a wire or leaf spring attached to the casing at 116 and extending through a slot 118 in said easing into a position at one side of the tack. The lowermost tack thus rests with one side of its head upon the extension 112, in which position it is held by the spring 111 and by the pressure of the tacks in the raceway above it. As the separating slide moves inwardly, the transverse portion 92 engages the head of the tack, the concave formation thereof tending stem of the lowermost tack from the column ing slide and also forces'it inwardly, so that its head rests upon the upper edge of the inwardly bent end portion 120 of the inner wall 58 of the raceway, as shown in F ig. 3. From this figure it will be s'een that the inner Wall, as soon as it reaches the passage of the separating slide, is bent inward at right angles and extendsto the driver passage 122. The transverse portion 92 of the separating slide passes above the inwardly bent end 120 of the inner wall of the raceway and carries the tack along, as described,

until it is beyond the end of thespring 114 and is then free to drop into the driver pas sage 122. The inward movement of the separating slide is limited by a pm 124:

i which contacts with the end of the plate 106, as best shown in Fig. 2. After the pin 80 passes out of contact with the lever 82 the spring 104 swings the lever in the opposite direction and returns it and the separating slide to their initial position. The apparatus as shown isprovided with a wire loop 130 to which may be attached any convenient counterbalancing means for relieving the operator of part, or all, of the weight of the apparatus.

In using the device, the operator grasps the handles 2, 4 with his right hand and with his forefinger extending forward over the arm or trigger 38; he then seizes the upper between the jaws 6, 8 and using the hammer head 9 as a fulcrum, tens ons the upper and draws it in over the last into lasted position, the nose 8 of the tacker being then in the position where a tack should be driven to secure the upper in place. The operator next presses the trigger 38 backwardly to withdraw the pin. 28 and allow the clutch mem ber 22 to be thrown in by the spring 26, whereupon a single revolution will be given to the disk 60. The lever 82 will accordingly be actuated, as described, to reciprocate the separating slide 86 to separate the lowermost ta'ck from the column in the raceway and to transfer it to the driver passage 122, into which it drops and rests upon the leather beneath the nose of the tacker. Immediately after the delivery of the tack, the driver 68 comes .in contact therewith and forces it through the upper into the last. The recoil due to the stroke of the driver, which is accentuated by the contour of the camway .63 in the block 64, shakes the apparatus so that the tacks are thrown about in the reservoir and the-raceway is thus kept supplied.

Having described my -invention, what I claim asnew and desire to secure by Letters .Patent of the United States is separating and tack driving mechanisms, a

tack reservoir and a raceway mounted on the supporting means and so arranged that the raceway is kept filled with tacks by the shocks due to the action of the driving mechanism, operating means for said mechanisms comprising a clutch member arranged to be driven from a continuously running source of power, a second clutch member, and a tripping device located in position to be engaged by a finger of the hand grasping the supporting means for releasing said clutch member to connect the mechanisms with the source of power.

3. Apparatus of the class described comprising tack driving means, a driver passage to which tacks are to be fed, a tack reservoir, a raceway leading therefrom, a slideway located transversely of the end of said raceway and shaped to receive and guide a tack separating slide, a tack separating slide mounted for reciprocation in said slideway, and means for reciprocating the slide, said slide having at its tack engaging end a relatively, wide horizontal portion corresponding to the width of the tack head and a relatively narrow vertical portion, said portions being adapted and arranged to engage respectively the head and stem of the tack presented ,thereto from the raceway, whereby .the tack is maintained against transverse movement, relatively to the slide and slideway during its transference to the driver passage.

4. Apparatus of the class described, comprising tack driving mechanism, a tack reservoir, a raceway leading therefrom, a

.tack separating slide mounted for reciprocross-section and is mounted for reciprocation transversely across the end of said raceway, the tack engaging end face of said slide being concaved andhaving the edge next the raceway in advance of the other edge, said concaved end being thereby adapted to engage andseparate the lowermost tack from the tacks in the raceway and to transfer the separated tack to the driver passage.

(S. In apparatus of the class described,

the combination of tack driving mechanism,

extension 011 one wall of the raceway lying across the path of the slide and stationary relatively thereto, the slide having an open slot arranged to receive the extension and permit movement of the slide, and means for withdrawing the slide to a point beyond the raceway on one side to permit a tack,

head to take up a position on the extension in front of the slide and for advancing the slide to convey the tack to the driving means.

8. Apparatus of the class described, having in combination, a casing provided with a driver passage, a driver mounted for reciprocation in said passage, a tack raceway,

a separating device mounted for reciprocation transversely of the raceway to transfer a tack from the raceway to the driver passage and comprising a portion which is arranged to engage the stem of a tack and a portion which is arranged to engage the head of the tack, and means for holding the tack against the separating device while the tack is. being transferred.

9. Apparatus of the class described, having in combination, a casing provided with a driver passage, a driver mounted therein, a tack supplying device including a raceway, a reciprocating separating device mounted for movement transversely of the raceway, the forward end or tack engaging face of said separating device comprising aportion parallel with the driver and a portiontransverse thereto, the parallel portion being in advance of the transverse portion, said portions being adapted to engage respectively the stem and head of a tack and transfer the same to said driver passage, and means for maintaining" the tack in position against the end of the separating device during its transfer.

10. In an apparatus of the class described,-

the combination with a casing provided with a driver passage, a driver arranged to reciprocate therein, a tack supplying device comprising a raceway and a plate mounted for reciprocation across the end of said raceway, an extension on the outer wall of said raceway in the path of movement of said plate, said plate having a slot to admit said extension and permit reciprocation of the plate, and means for maintaining the tack against the end of said reciproeatory plate during the inward movement of said plate.

11. Apparatus of the class described, having in combination, a casing provided with a driver passage, a driver mounted for reciprocation therein, a tack supplying device comprising a. raceway having inner and outer walls, and a separating plate mounted for reciprocation across the end of said raceway, an extension on the outer wall of said raceway in the path of movement of said separating plate and having its inner face deflected toward the driver passage, said plate having a slot to admit said extension and permit reciprocation of said plate, an inwardly bent portion on said inner wall adapted to support one side of the tack head, and means for maintaining the tack against the end of said reciprocating plate and against the said inwardly bent portion of the inner wall during the tack transferring movement of said separating plate.

12. Apparatus of the class described, having in combination, a casing, a driver mounted for reciprocation therein, operating means therefor, a tack raceway, a separating device mounted for reciprocation transversely thereof, means actuated from said driver operating means for moving said separating device positively in the direction of feed, and resilient means for returning the separating device to normal position.

13. Apparatus of the class described, having in combination, a tack reservoir, a raceway leading therefrom and arranged to be filled with tacks by agitation of the tacks in the reservoir, a driver, means for separating tacks and feeding them to the driver passage beneath the driver, and means for increasing the movement of the driver during the latter part of its stroke to augment its driving effect and to furnish an accentu-- ated rebound for agitating the tracks.

- 14. Apparatus of the class described comprising an inclosed tack reservoir, a raceway in and leading from the reservoir constructed and arranged to be kept filled with tacks as they are thrown about in the tack reservoir by the agitation of the apparatus incident to its operation, tack separating and tack driving mechanisms, and means arranged-to be powerdriven for operating the said mechanisms.

15. An apparatus of the class described:

comprising tack driving means presenting a driving passage to which tacks are to be fed,

arate tacks and to present them to the driver.

passage.

16.. An apparatus of the class described 4 comprising tack" driving means presenting a driver passage to which tacks are to be fed, tack supplying and separating means comprising a raceway, and a tack separating slide mounted for movement transversely of l the raceway and having a face to engage a tack and transfer it to'the passage, the corner of said face next the raceway being slightly rounded-to prevent the slide from catching on the second tack in the raceway.

17. Apparatus of the class described having, in combination, tack driving means presenting a driver passage to which tacks are to be 'fed, tack supplying and separating means comprising a raceway, a tack separating slide arranged to separate tacks one at a time from the raceway and transfer them to the driver passage, and yielding means for holding the tack against the slide during the tack transferring movement.

18. Apparatus of the class described hav ing, in combination, a casing having a driver passage, a raceway leading into the casing, and a separating slide mounted'in the easing to reciprocate acrossthe raceway, the

end portion of one wall of the raceway extending in the direction of movement of the slide and its upper edge forming a support for the head of the tack being transferred by the slide from the raceway to the driver passage. I v

' l9. Apparatus-of the class described having, in combination, a casing, a separating slide mounted to reciprocate'in the casing, a raceway leading into the casing transversely of the direction of movement of the slide, and an extension on the raceway lying across the path of the slide, supported. in the casing and adapted when the slide is withdrawn to support the head of the lowermost tack in. the raceway in position to be engaged by the slide upon its return movement.

20. Apparatus of the class described having, in combination, a casing presenting a driver passage, a raceway leading into the casing, a separating devicemounted in the casing for movement across the raceway and having a slot extending from its front edge in the direction of its movement, and an extension of the upper or tack supporting edge of one wall of the raceway lyingraceway leading into the casing transversely of the direction of movement of the slide, and an extension on the raceway extending across the path of the slide to support a tack in the path of the slide, the inner face of the extension being curved inwardly toward the direction of tack transferring movement of the slide.

2 2. Apparatus of the class described having, in combination, a separating device, a

raceway comprising walls separated for'the reception of tack stems with the tack heads resting on'the upper edges of the walls, and an extension on one wall of the raceway forming a continuation of the upper edge of the wall and lying across the path of the separating device, said device being slotted to permit movement of the device across the end of the raceway.

23. Apparatus of the class described having, in combination, tack driving mechanism, a raceway for supplying tacks for the driving mechanism, and tack separating and transferring means'comprising a slide having'an end face arranged upon movement of the slide to engage the lowermost tack in the raceway for transference thereof, said face having the edge next the raceway in advance of the opposite edge to facilitate the separation ofthe lowermost tack from the column of tacks in the raceway prior to transference ofthe tack by continuous movement of the slide. Inv testimony whereof -.I have signed my name to thisspecification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

v EDWARD ERICKSON. -Witnesses: I

J OHN W.CASGROVE, CHESTER E. Rooms.

Corrections in Letters Patent No. 1,219,446.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,219,446, granted Merch 20, 1917, upon the application of Edward Erickson,'of Beverly, Massachusetts, for an improvement in Tacking Apparatus, errors appear in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 2, strike out lines 15 to 18, inchisive; same page, line 95, for the word the, second occurrence, read and; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that the same 'meycoh form to the record of the case in the Patent Oflice.

Signed and sealed this 1st day of May, A. D., 1917. [SEAL] R. F. WHITEHEAD,

Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

